Public Relations
by Maydrei
Summary: Gaara and Sakura keep each other company during a party. After a little champagne goes around, they both get talkative. Sakura gets a little tipsy, and Gaara gets his flirt on. Giggling and making out ensues.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Feeling really productive right now, and I want to get this online as soon as possible to get your feedback. I'll be honest—I didn't edit (gasp, the horror!), and I'll probably fix it later, but I really don't feel like going over this right now. (Lazy.)**

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The cool desert night felt good against his skin, and Gaara let out a long breath. The air back in the room was stuffy, filled with obnoxious people and horrible jokes, too much chatter. He didn't know why he had let Temari talk him into this.

Then again, it wasn't quite her fault. He knew that he didn't like these sort of social functions, and he had gone anyway. Everyone had been fawning over him, circling him like vultures. Gaara shook his head, disgusted. He didn't know why they still tried, it should have been obvious that nobody would be getting special favors with him.

He heard the balcony door open and he stiffened, fearing that they had found him. He didn't turn around, hoping they would see he wasn't interested in conversing and leave.

"Oh." A surprised voice met him, a woman's. "I didn't realize someone was…" the voice trailed off. Gaara sighed and looked over his shoulder. And much to his surprise, he was pleased to see who it was.

Sakura Haruno, ambassador from Konoha. Unlike everyone else that had been invited to this function, she was the only one that didn't make him want to drive a screw through his skull.

She saw who it was and smiled. "Kazekage. I should have expected to find you here. You have worse patience for these people than I do." She walked up to the railing and leaned against it, looking out over the village. "I know you're not one for talk, so I guess I should just stop talking."

Gaara shrugged. "It's fine," he murmured, following her gaze. "At least you don't waste your words, like everyone else."

Sakura smirked, wondering if he had just complimented her, and took a sip from the glass she was holding. "You know, night is my favorite time in the desert. There's fewer clouds here than in Konoha, so you can see the stars so much better."

Gaara glanced at her when she stopped talking. Strangely, he enjoyed listening to her. "I prefer the nighttime too," he said quietly. "Quieter. I used to spend my nights on the rooftops, staring up at the sky. I liked being awake when everyone else was asleep."

She turned towards him, medical ninja in her taking over for a moment. "Have you been having trouble sleeping again? I thought the regiment of medicine I—"

Gaara shook his head. "I've been sleeping fine, doctor," he said with slight amusement.

That made her laugh, and she looked away again. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."

They were quiet for some time, looking out over the balcony. Noises from the party inside drifted through the glass door, but it was a muted sound, almost not there. The moon was bright and full, light shining down on the village.

A light breeze passed over the balcony, and Sakura shivered from the chill. Gaara turned his attention back to her. "Are you cold?" he asked, eyes falling on what she was wearing. Classic black dress that fell to her knees. Didn't look all that warm. "Maybe you should go back inside."

Sakura shook her head. "Ugh, I'd rather stay out here and freeze to death. Besides, I have this to keep me warm," she said with a smile, lifting her glass again and taking another sip.

"If you say so," he shrugged.

More time passed, and both of them lingered outside, unwilling to go back and join the rest of the party. They ended sitting at a small round table in the corner, talking quietly and sharing their dislike of functions like this.

"I mean, I wasn't trained how to do all this stuff. I was trained for missions, not politics," Sakura complained.

"And you think I'm any better suited for this? I hate these people," Gaara said. "And they must know it. But they still keep coming back! All I'm supposed to do is protect Suna, not deal with these dimwits." He now had his own glass, having taken one from a wandering caterer, and it was half empty. Sakura had another one in her hand, her first glass sitting in the middle of the table, empty.

"Ugh, I know." Sakura shivered again, and scooted her chair closer to Gaara. "I swore that the last function I went to would be the _last one, _but then I got this invitation and how am I supposed to refuse without seeming offensive?"

Gaara smirked. "Do you think it's any easier for me? Being the Kazekage, I'm invited to _everything. _Someone's getting married? I have to be there. Someone's having a birthday? I get invited."

Sakura frowned. "At least you don't have to deal with patients every single day. Don't get me wrong, I love working at the hospital, but some men…" she shook her head and sighed. "The second they see my uniform fantasies pop in their head. The fact that I could snap their necks in a second doesn't even occur to them."

Gaara leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, well, I don't have it too easy either. The second women hear _Kazekage_ they turn into gold-diggers. Falling over themselves to chat me up." He took a swallow from his glass.

Sakura smiled, watching him. "You know, it might not be the title, you ever think of that?"

Gaara frowned. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you play innocent. Women like you because you're handsome. Got the whole 'bad-boy' thing going on."

Gaara snorted. "I've got the 'bad-boy' thing going on? What are you talking about?"

Sakura flushed at his reaction. "Oh, come on, you know. You've got the whole package. The looks, the bad-ass attitude, the power."

Gaara just shook his head, snickering. "Yeah, well, if you're going to go that way then I can do the same thing." He met her gaze. "If it's not just the title for me, it's not just the uniform for you."

"Oh, shut up," Sakura mumbled, taking a gulp from her glass.

Gaara smirked at her. "I'm serious. Sure, I bet you look damn good in a nurse's uniform, but that dress on you right now isn't too shabby."

Sakura paused for a second, her heart giving a strange lurch, but she quickly shook it off. "You're drunk," she accused playfully.

"I'm serious!" he objected. "And no I'm not; you've drunk more than I have."

Sakura waved her hand. "Yeah, well, a dress this expensive better look damn good on me."

Gaara leaned forward, eyes determined. "It's not just the dress, Sakura. _You_ look good."

Sakura felt a flush rising up her neck. He was too close, she felt dizzy looking at him. Swallowing hard, she looked away. Maybe _she _was the one who was drunk. "Okay, whatever you say," she said.

Gaara frowned when she broke eye contact. He didn't like that. Without thinking, he reached forward and grabbed her hand. Sakura glanced down at their hands, then looked up at him, surprised. Gaara blinked and froze for a moment, then hastily dropped her hand. He cleared his throat and stood, rubbing his hands on his pants so he had something to do with them. Sakura watched him silently, hand still tingling where he had touched.

He couldn't stand feeling her eyes on him and he turned away, grabbing his glass and downing it. He wiped his mouth and looked back down at her. "Er, I think we should go back in, now."

"Oh, yeah. Right." Sakura finished her drink too and got to her feet. She stumbled, and Gaara caught her automatically. Sakura's face burned. "My heel clipped the tile," she muttered through gritted teeth. "I'm not falling down drunk, I swear. It was my heels."

Gaara had to hide a smirk. "You're heels. Sure."

Sakura turned her head up to look at him. "I mean it! Gosh, I'm not a sloppy drinker or anything—"

She stopped abruptly as their eyes locked, able to feel his breath on her face. Her mouth popped open to say something, anything, but her mind was blank. Okay, that wasn't true. Her mind was focused on him, and only him: the exact distance between them, the way he smelled, the shade of his eyes, the way he was looking at her, the feel of his hands on her, the way the fabric of his clothes felt against her skin.

Without thinking of the consequences, Sakura leaned against him, hands tightening on his arms. She tried to go up on tip-toe—but damn it, she already was with her heels. Frustrated, Sakura moved her arms up around his shoulders to pull him to her, but he was already leaning down to meet her.

The kiss was short and light, both of them pulling away for a brief second to look at each other. Sakura started to blush furiously and went to step back, but Gaara wouldn't stand for it. One arm locked around her and yanked her back, throwing her off balance, and Gaara swooped down, kissing her hard. Sakura clung to him to keep her feet under her, shocked.

"Gaara?" she asked when he finally pulled away. "Wha..?"

He was staring down at her, breathing hard.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"I don't know," Gaara said quietly, "but I like it."

He resumed kissing her, and Sakura couldn't help but kiss him right back. She loved the feel of him against her, the rough way he kissed her. She even liked the way he towered over her, sheltering-like. He was like a furnace to cling to against the chilly desert night.

Sakura ducked her head for a moment to catch her breath, and Gaara rested his head against hers. Without knowing why, she started to giggle. "You're drunk," she told him.

Sakura heard him chuckle into her ear. "Yeah, well, so are you." His eyes traveled over to the glass door that lead back to the party and he stiffened slightly. Could they see them?

"Gaara? What's wrong?"

He looked back at her. "Why don't we get out of here?"

Sakura frowned, then glanced over her shoulder. "Oh. Yeah, let's go."

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**This idea just popped into my head. I kept writing after this, but decided to make this its own chapter. I don't know how much more I'm going to write about this, which might cause some problems with actual plot, but I'm never the sort to work from an outline.**

**Remember, Reviews=Love**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay! For some strange reason, I thought I had already posted this weeks ago. I finally realized that no, that was just my imagination, so you're getting it now.**

**Enjoy the boozy excursions of our favorite red headed and pink haired ninjas.**

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Sakura murmured her thanks as Gaara helped her into his jacket to ward of the night's chill. She eyed him momentarily in the moonlight—the white dress shirt shone against the dark of the night, and the black pants went along seamlessly. She had never seen him in 'formal attire,' but she decided it quite agreed with him.

Clutching the coat around her, Sakura frowned. Personally, she had preferred snuggling up against Gaara to keep warm, but she wasn't about to argue, especially after he resumed kissing her.

Her head was filled with a wonderful tingling that didn't have everything to do with the alcohol—it was being with Gaara. Kissing Gaara, being held by Gaara. The idea alone just seemed so foreign to her she couldn't be sure it was actually happening, but even if it was a dream, she didn't want it to stop.

But really, could this be true? The Kazekage, the sand demon, the man of no emotions—could he truly be kissing her right now? Showing completely unleashed passion? Even though she wasn't in the best set of mind to remember anything right now, she was positive she had only seen him so much as crack a smile a handful of times, and here he was, pulling her to him and kissing her without hesitation?

Sakura didn't care. All she registered was that he was warm, holding her tight, and a damn good kisser.

When he released her, Sakura was so dazed that she had to stand there for a second to figure out where they were. Her eyes traveled up to the building they were standing in front of and she realized they had made their way to Gaara's home, Gaara himself in the process of opening the door.

Curiosity grew in her—she had never been inside—and she quickly hurried after Gaara as he admitted her inside, but he didn't give her a chance to investigate. He began kissing her again and Sakura's interest in her surroundings were pushed aside by lust.

In a tangle of arms and legs, Gaara managed to lead Sakura up a set of stairs, never breaking their lip-lock (Sakura would have been impressed if she wasn't distracted, considering he was going backwards). A door was opened, and then Sakura found herself inside what she figured must be Gaara's bedroom.

Gaara left her for a brief moment in order to shut the door behind them and turn on a lamp. Sakura narrowed her eyes against the sudden glare and rose a hand, squinting around the room.

Well, she had to say, this definitely was his. It was practically bare, containing only the very simplest of necessities: a bed, a nightstand, a desk with a chair, a single window.

He cut short her assessment as he came back to her side. "You certainly don't need this anymore," he murmured, moving close and brushing the jacket off her shoulders.

Sakura smiled. "Nope, not anymore."

Gaara threw the jacket over the chair in the corner and kissed the corner of her mouth, hands traveling down her sides. He had been getting aggravated trying to feel her through that unflattering piece of cloth. Sakura's hands snaked up his chest and around his shoulders, kissing him thoroughly.

She started when she was suddenly lifted off the floor, tightening her grip on him as her feet suddenly were no longer supporting her. Gaara laughed quietly at her reaction, earning a glare from her. He rolled his eyes and resumed kissing her senseless. Taking a few steps back, he found the bed and smoothly sat down, Sakura now in his lap. Moving his hands down to her hips, Gaara pressed his face into her neck, feeling her pulse racing against his skin.

She jumped when his tongue reached out, warm and wet, against her neck. She squirmed, making a face, and he pulled away. "You didn't like that?" he asked smoothly, as if daring her to say no.

She didn't respond at all, instead shifting even closer to him, chest to chest, so there was no more room in between the two of them. Her mouth was soft against his, but demanding, her hands tangling tight into his hair as he fell back onto the bed.

In enough time they had switched places, properly mussing the sheets under them as they played the game for dominance. Nearly half of Gaara's shirt buttons had come undone, it now hung off his shoulders, and Sakura's heels were long gone. Gaara finally gained power, leaning over her, panting slightly but smirking all the same down at Sakura as he pinned her wrists to the pillows.

Even more making-out ensued, and with a vigorous joint-effort from the two of them, Gaara's shirt was shed and belt buckle undone. Sakura let her hands roam aimlessly over his chest and back, enjoying the feeling of his muscles shift and tense under her touch.

"Funny," she teased, "I thought all the Kages were old and fat."

"Aren't you happy that isn't true?" Gaara asked, leaning down on his forearms and kissing her again.

"Yes," she answered with a grin when he finally pulled away.

"Same here." He paused for a second, then said, "You know what would make me happy?"

"What?"

"If this dress," he suddenly pushed it up her legs, "wasn't in my way."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Was that his version of asking permission? "Then help me take it off." Gaara didn't need any further prompting, and quickly Sakura's dress was dropped onto the floor.

"Much better," Gaara growled, smirking.

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**I played with the idea of skipping this altogether, and having the second chapter being the morning after, but what can this hurt? The end of chapter one was a little too vague, so I figured that I should add this.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I was mulling over what to do with this for some time. I'm actually satisfied about how it ended up, which is unusual for me. Enjoy.**

When Sakura cracked open an eye the following morning, the first thing she took note of was that she was using the chest of someone as a pillow. A very well-defined, attractive chest. She may not be fully conscious yet but she was still capable of appreciating it, while inwardly congratulating herself for finding this catch.

Her mind muzzy with sleep, she idly tried to piece together the previous night while gently running her fingers up and down this mysterious stranger's arm.

These muscles must belong to a ninja, she figured. No average villager would have them developed like this. She eyed the muscles, her medical knowledge kicking in (if in a more aware state, Sakura would have found it amusing that textbook knowledge would come back to her faster than her own memory, but at least Tsunade would be proud). Definitely a ninja…but strangely, no scars that she could see. That was a rarity, but Sakura shrugged it away—perhaps he simply healed fast.

She couldn't tell anymore about him from just looking, and she didn't have the willpower to move from where she lay to see his face; she was simply too comfortable. Racking her memory, she thought back.

Brief flashes from the social function the previous night flitted through her mind. Music, chatter, food…still no face came to mind. She remembered holding a man's jacket around her shoulders, an arm around her waist…similar to the one holding her now, she thought with a smile, glancing down at it. She moved her fingers to trail up his skin, trying to remember.

Her hand came to a sudden halt as an image came to mind.

_Red hair. Dark eyes. Kanji tattoo._

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. No. _No. _She wouldn't have…

She quickly sat up and looked at his face. Sakura felt her stomach drop.

Oh, god. She had slept with Sabaku no Gaara.

Gaara nodded his head, not paying attention but hoping his advisor wouldn't notice. He was too busy trying to figure out what happened this morning.

When he had woken up, Sakura was gone.

Gaara scowled and leaned back in his chair as his advisor rifled through a few files, still unaware Gaara wasn't giving him the slightest attention. Why had she left? It was early when he awoke, so it wasn't as if she had to rush off to work at the hospital. Had she just wanted to leave before he woke up? Snuck out?

Gaara didn't like that idea. Not one bit. It irritated him. She was that quick to be rid of him? Quite flattering, that.

If Gaara was more in tune with his feelings, he would have realized what else was bothering him. But, as it is well known, the Kazekage wasn't the type of man to pay attention to such things. So all those unnerving feelings he had when he was around Sakura were ignored. So what if she made him feel different compared to other women? So what if he enjoyed talking with her, found conversations with her captivating? There was no substance behind those facts, and Gaara immediately filed them under 'useless' and never processed them.

There were some things, however, that Gaara obviously knew. While he might not be an expert at feelings, he certainly knew what his bodywas telling him. Signals that his body gave off Gaara picked up quite well, rather than what his mind was telling him.

He knew that his body found nothing wrong with Sakura. Nothing at all. Sure, he was thinking about herbody, but there were other things too. Never in his life could Gaara remember being attracted to a woman's smell, but last night Sakura had done that for him. Most women he encountered had a bizarre habit of drowning their bodies in perfume, but not Sakura. She smelled natural. Good. Appealing. And the image of her face, flushed, with half lidded eyes as she lay below him was probably burned into his memory forever (whether he wanted it or not). He even liked the way she said his name—she had been murmuring it as she fell asleep, curled up against him. And she fit against him perfectly, all soft and warm as she pressed her face into his shoulder and slid her arms around him.

Gaara wanted to experience it again. All of it. He wasn't sure how to go about it, but he didn't care. He wanted her, and that was all that mattered.

"Sakura, could you bring these to the Kazekage's office?"

Sakura blinked and picked up her head, disturbed from her thoughts. "Sorry, what?"

The chief doctor waved a stack at her. "These reports. They need to be seen by the Kazekage for confirmation. Could you bring them to him?"

Sakura stared at her for a moment, her face heating. "Can't you get someone else to do it?" she asked.

Kyoko rose an eyebrow at her. "I'm asking you. Is there a problem?"

"Um, well—yes, actually." Sakura cleared her thoughts and looked down, pushing her hair away from her face. "I'm busy. With stuff."

Kyoko's other eyebrow also rose. "Stuff? I know you don't have any patients to see for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, well, I have…this," Sakura flustered, glancing down at the paper in her hands, which she had been doodling on. Hastily Sakura flipped it over. "And other things."

Kyoko shoved the stack at her. "Just do it," she sighed, and walked off. Sakura tried to argue, but the chief doctor was gone. Looking down at the reports in her arms, Sakura felt her stomach drop.

Was this really happening? She had to see Gaara again so soon? But…she planned on never seeing him again, if she could arrange it. She wanted to live this down, not drudge it back up!

There was no underling in the hallway that Sakura could see that she could pass these off to, and with an air of defeat, Sakura headed outside into the heat. Looked like she'd have to do it herself.

Sakura tried to steel herself as she walked down the streets. Okay. She could do this. And she only had to drop these off, maybe she wouldn't even cross Gaara's path! But if she did…Sakura sighed. What could she do? Act like nothing happened? Should she tell him that she was humiliated about what happened and never wanted to bring this up again?

And how was _he _going to react when he saw her? Was he annoyed she had snuck out in the early hours of the day? Or—would he be all cuddly? The thought made Sakura shiver. (Gaara, cuddly? Sakura couldn't even imagine.)

She entered the Kazekage building and her face fell as she saw that the secretary wasn't sitting at her desk. Well, there was her last hope. Looked like she would have to deliver these personally.

She felt like she was infiltrating an enemy camp as she climbed the stairs to Gaara's office, praying that he wasn't going to see her. In fact, she didn't want anyone to see her. She wanted to be in and out, just like that.

Sakura realized she was having a staring contest with the handle of the door to Gaara's office. Shaking her head, Sakura opened the door.

Relief washed over her when she saw that the room was empty. Scurrying over to the desk, Sakura set down the reports and turned to leave when she saw the reports start to slip. Spinning around, Sakura tried to catch them—and succeeded at keeping them from flying to the floor, but in the process she knocked over a container for pens, and it seemingly exploded, writing utensils and desk paraphernalia spilling everywhere.

Sakura cursed as she scrambled around, trying to shove pens and the other things back into the damned container. She must look like an idiot! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Sakura spotted a bunch of paperclips on the floor on the other side of the desk and got down on her knees, quickly scooping them up. Now from this vantage point she could see some things had bounced under his desk and she crawled after them, gathering all the miscellaneous objects in her hands.

Just then Sakura heard the door open, and she moved to jump up—expertly cracking her head on the underside of the desk and almost knocking herself out. Stifling a whimper, Sakura rubbed her head and cleared the desk, standing to face the newcomer.

Gaara, needless to say, was pretty alarmed when he realized someone was _crawling around under his desk_, but was even more surprised when Sakura suddenly popped to her feet. Usually more tactful, his hand slipped from the doorknob and he dumbly said, "Sakura?"

"Hey," Sakura said weakly, face burning.

A silent moment stretched between them, neither of them moving. Then, "What were you doing?"

"Uh—these," she hurried supplied, dumping all the objects unceremoniously on his desk. "Fell. I was picking them up." Sakura clasped her hands in front of her, feeling like an idiot. _Kill me now, please._

"Oh."

She cleared her throat. "Right. Well, I just dropped off these from the hospital," she patted the reports, "so I'll just go now."

She started to walk to the door, but Gaara stepped in her way. "Is your head alright?" he asked. "Sounded like you hurt yourself." He raised a hand to touch the back of her head, but Sakura quickly stepped out of his range.

"I'm fine. Honest. I really have to get back from the hospital—"

"Sakura." Gaara grabbed her wrist as she made another attempt at the door. Sakura stared at his feet as his other hand reached up and ran over her head. "You made quite the bump."

_Thanks, Captain Obvious, _Sakura thought vehemently, her pain and embarrassment getting the better of her. She didn't need him to confirm that for her.

Sakura stiffened as the touch on her head became less processing and more of a caress. "Gaara…" she muttered, not daring to look up at him.

"Yes?" He moved closer, his hand trailing down to her jaw line and across her chin.

Sakura pointedly ignored the fluttering in her belly. _No. _She was not going to let this continue. "Gaara," she said more firmly, looking up at him. Which, as it turned out, was a mistake. She hadn't realized he had leaned in, and now his face was mere inches from hers. She found herself staring into his eyes, transfixed. Her mouth was half open from a scathing sentence that was on the tip of her tongue, but it quickly died and it didn't occur to her to close her mouth.

"Are you busy tonight?" Gaara asked her, his voice quiet and soft. His thumb brushed her cheek. "I'm almost done here, so I thought we could…"

His words clicked into her mind, and Sakura blinked. Her jaw clenched as she realized what he was insinuating. Like she was just—willing to _put out_ whenever he wanted? As if she was his beck and call?

A cold anger grew in Sakura, and that fluttery anticipation immediately died. She stepped cleanly out of his grip and said shortly, "No. I have other things to do."

Gaara frowned at her sudden coolness. "Other things?"

"Yes, other things." Sakura grabbed the doorknob, even as Gaara tried to stop her.

"But—" Gaara didn't know what he was going to say, but he didn't want her to leave.

Sakura threw a glare at him over her shoulder. "Let me make this clear. Last night was a mistake. And it will never happen again."

Gaara stopped, baffled, and Sakura walked out and slammed the door in his face. He stared at where she had left. Where had _that_ come from?

Sakura sighed as she exited the Kazekage building, feeling both relieved and concerned. This was just turning into a giant mess, and what she had just done certainly hadn't helped it any. But he had just made her so angry when he just assumed she would sleep with him again.

She couldn't believe him. Arrogant little…

Sakura calmed herself. No. This wasn't all his fault. She hadn't objected last night, of course he wouldn't think that she was ashamed of what she did. The fact that she had slept with someone she didn't have much of a relationship with was embarrassing enough, but for her to choose Gaara…that was the worst thing of this whole situation.

She was ambassador of Konoha, she should be acting responsibly. Not getting drunk at social functions, and certainly not hitting on Suna's leader and jumping into bed with him. How could he take her seriously now, after what they had done together?

Before, they had a strict business-like relationship. She and him met to talk about the relations between their villages, and she had been trying to help him with his insomnia. That was the extent of their interactions before. Now, after all this…

Sakura shoved that thought away. She had to put this behind her. People made mistakes all the time, and they continued on perfectly fine. So could she.

She returned to the hospital, but her mind wouldn't drop it. As she went though the rest of her duties, Sakura just couldn't stop thinking about it. She had said this was a mistake. But if it had happened differently, would she think that? It was only because of their positions Sakura was against this. If she wasn't the ambassador to Konoha, would she have minded? If Gaara wasn't the Kazekage, would she be so embarrassed?

She realized she was twisting a sheet between her hands and dropped it, but it was already wrinkled. Sakura sighed and tried to smooth it out on the hospital bed; she should be cleaning up this room, not wondering about her romantic life. If she didn't put this out of her head, she wouldn't get anything done.

**Next chapter I plan to have Gaara scheme on how to win Sakura over, but it may take a while (again, sorry) for me to put it up. Let me know what you think of this one.**


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